The Heart Never Lies
by nedlovesyou
Summary: Actions are often unexplainable, and they most certainly were in the case of Chad Dylan Cooper's sudden pursuit of Sonny Monroe's heart. Post 1x08. Sonny/Chad.
1. The Heart Cares

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This story ranges all the way from angst to humor, but generally it shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's no work of art - trust me - but it's enjoyable, and is a good read for one sitting.

**At least I hope so. ;)**

**Enjoy! **

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A bouquet of delicately placed roses were resting serenely against a dressing room door, where they'd been sitting perfectly still for three hours, when suddenly a foot clad in the latest designer men's shoe stomped across them without reason. Chad Dylan Cooper arrogantly scoffed at the pathetic picture before him, being so used to the sight of flowers from fans that it nearly sickened him to see another bouquet, and swaggered into his dressing room.

"Just toss those in the trash, Tony," he called over his shoulder to his assistant. Tony rolled his eyes at his employer, not even bothering to ask him to reconsider discarding the beautiful roses someone had been kind enough to send to him. Instead, when Chad wasn't looking, he dusted off the dirt from the sole of Chad's shoe and placed the flowers gently underneath his jacket to take home for his wife.

"You can leave now," Chad dismissed the man with a weak flick of his wrist, closing the door behind him. Once inside, he collapsed onto his sofa **–** which was made of only the finest leather his assistant could find, of course **–** and let out a deep sigh that he'd been holding in all day. Sitting back up, he put his face in his hands and attempted to magically wipe away the tiredness that resulted from his lack of sleep the night before. He knew he'd need to snap out of his desperate longing for sleep soon so that he could run over his lines for the next day's shoot.

'_I could take a break though,'_ he tempted himself, reaching across the arm of the couch to grab the remote control off of the side table. Sprawling back across the leather, he turned on the small television set across the room and flipped through the channels until he (almost) subconsciously landed on channel twenty-five, which just so happened to be the very station that incessantly airs reruns of_ So Random! _every few hours.

'_Have you lost it, Cooper?'_ He quickly pressed the power button and the closeup of Sonny Monroe's face faded to black.

'_A walk; that'll clear your head. Just circle around the lot a few times, rehearse your lines a little, and get a good night's sleep._'

As he walked down the carpeted hallway, he ironically began thinking of how easily his thoughts had been pulled to Sonny lately. Eating yogurt in the cafeteria reminded him of the day they met, getting fan mail brought back memories of wearing that ridiculous costume, seeing cameras around the studio made him think of those interviews he'd (sort of_)_ intruded on... The different ways that she was haunting his thoughts seemed endless and he felt like he was bordering the point of insanity.

It's not like he liked her, though. No way. This was clearly just a phase that would soon pass.

He opened the metal door that lead to the lot and breathed in a refreshing breath of cold air, the bitter wind whipping against his bare skin. He liked this kind of wind because he felt like he could relate it. It was cold and harsh, like him. His body disagreed with his mind, though, and he instinctively zippered up his brown leather jacket before beginning his walk.

Absorbed in his thoughts and looking at his feet while he walked, he didn't see a figure exit the _So Random! _studio and head towards him. The person, whose eyes were also averted to the ground, looked up just in time to avoid a near collision with him and the two survived the encounter with just a simple brush of the other's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," the girl, which could be assumed from the voice, mumbled under her breath with her head still ducked.

"Sonny?" Chad questioned, immediately recognizing the voice. Sonny Monroe, also recognizing Chad's voice, looked up at him and almost instantly caught his eye. She knew at that moment that he'd seen the tears that were ferociously streaming down her face, but inexplicably she didn't bother to try and hide them from him. Chad stared back at her in both shock and silence, unable to speak yet unable to break the paralyzing eye contact with her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked finally, his face openly expressing his concern. Sonny turned on her heels quickly and began walking the other way, hoping and praying that he wouldn't follow. Much to her dismay, though, he was by her side in almost an instant and was keeping a steady pace with her.

"Please," she begged, her voice cracking ever so slightly while she quickened her steps.

"Sonny," he unwillingly grabbed her arm, causing them both to halt in their tracks. Chad tried to make eye contact with her again, almost craving it **–** needing it **–** but she kept her eyes glued to the concrete below them.

"Chad, I seriously don't want to talk to you about this! You really don't have to pretend like you care about me, so just let me go, okay?" she spit out angrily, her voice shaking more with every word she spoke. She tried to break away from him, but Chad tightened his grip on her arm.

"Just calm down, okay?" he said softly, trying to get her under control, to bring her back. He had no experience with this whole comfort thing, now finding it more difficult than he'd ever expected. How could he sooth her when his heart was now beating so erratically?

Her head sunk lower and he let go of her arm, allowing her to cover her face with her freed hands. Before he knew it, her entire body had begun shaking with almost violent sobs. Chad, at a loss for both words and actions, eventually guided her toward a nearby staircase and sat her down next to him. She folded over onto her lap and he, with much hesitation at first, began to gingerly run circles across her back with his hand. Her body became less tense at the gesture and he started tracing soft patterns with the tips of his fingers, inching closer to her as her sobs began to come less frequently.

He heard a whimper escape her throat and a sharp, painful pang hit him right in the middle of his chest, forcibly pushing the breath right out of him. And he had no control after how he was feeling after that moment, no control over his hands as they rubbed soothing circles across a fragile Sonny Monroe's back. It was then that he realized he did in fact care about her, and that scared him to a level he'd never known existed.


	2. The Heart Beats Erratically

**Chapter two! This has to be my least favorite chapter, but hey! Maybe you'll like it more. Enjoy! xD**

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Although her tears had subsided, Sonny kept her hands cupped around her face to block Chad's view of her. She was mortified by the entire situation and afraid that if their eyes connected she'd either break down into tears again or just blush wildly like an absolute dunce. It was unfathomable to her that she was accepting comfort from the one person who made her blood boil to its highest point.

The last thing she'd expected when she left the studio was that she would run into someone, let alone Chad Dylan Cooper. Now, after many minutes of hysterically bawling her eyes out in front of him, she wished that she had a giant rewind button that would make everything go back to how it was before she sat down and read that foolish gossip blog.

"This is so embarrassing," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

Chad sat next to her in utter silence, still not fully comprehending that any of this was happening either. Like Sonny, the last thing he'd expected when he left his studio was to run into the very person he was trying to rid his mind of. He found himself wondering why he was still sitting there, because normally he wouldn't have even chased after her, but there was some instinctive force that compelled him to follow her and before he knew it they were on a staircase, in the middle of a deserted parking lot, and she was crying.

Sonny wiped away a stray tear and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, bringing herself to drop her hands and look at Chad in the process.

"Well, uh, thank you, I guess," she stuttered, trying her best to grin wile really all she wanted to do at that point was shrivel up in a corner and evaporate.

"You're welcome, I guess," Chad replied identically, ducking his head back down once he said it. Lingering moments of an unbearably uncomfortable silence followed and it was then that they both realized his arm was still around her, now resting on the small of her back. He jerked it away quickly and clasped his hands together while Sonny cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So!" she exclaimed in her classic pep, "some weather we're having tonight, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Chad bounced back quickly in agreement, "I heard it was supposed to be hot but I guess the weatherman goofed!" he added with a nervous shrug of his shoulders.

"Silly weatherman," Sonny forced a laugh, feeling her cheeks becoming hotter by the second. Chad could feel the same cognition and turned away from her until he felt that they cooled down. In the silence that followed he wondered how it was possible that he could, well, _blush_, in such cold weather. Mild chills ran up his spine when he realized that someone had actually made him blush of embarrassment. He, the same person who prided himself on having the ability to make every girl in a room blush with a simple wink while not even the most beautiful one could say or do anything to tint his own cheeks, was blushing. Because of Sonny Monroe.

"Chad?" Sonny pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" he replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You were just kind of sitting there," she said with a small laugh, making a solid and hopeful attempt to lighten the mood.

"You wanted to make sure _I _was okay?" he asked, perplexed. It wasn't like he was the one with tear stained cheeks.

Sonny looked down at her lap and began picking the nail polish off her fingernails to keep herself occupied and avoid a conversation. Chad looked away and bit his lip, finding it very difficult to conjure up something to say or do. Yet again, agonizing moments of a painfully uncomfortable silence settled between them and neither one knew what to do next.

Chad discreetly turned toward her and began to observe, hoping that he'd find something that would enlighten him and help him escape these grueling moments. He watched as she continued picking the glossy polish off her fingernails and noticed that she was rocking her leg nervously. She looked as if she wanted to stow herself away in a closet for the rest of her life. Then, he noticed that there were goose bumps spread across her arm and an idea came to mind.

"Are you cold?" he asked, and Sonny turned to him with questionable eyes.

"A little bit, why?" she said in return, visibly expressing her confusion.

"Here," he unzipped the leather jacket that he was wearing and began taking it off.

"Chad, you don't have to**–**" Sonny began once she realized what he was doing.

"Don't worry about it," he stopped her. Once he succeeded in taking it off of his own body, he turned to Sonny and leaned closer in order to drape the jacket across her shoulders. Sonny's heart was beating rapidly, ferociously pumping blood throughout her veins as his breath beat against her neck. She was almost positive that it was pumping so loudly that even he could hear it, but she was oblivious to the fact that his was doing just the same.

After making sure that the jacket would stay on its own, Chad returned his hands to his side and prayed to God that she wouldn't take notice of the (second) blush that he could feel forming.

"Thanks," she said sincerely with a smile that hid her nerves. It was strange to her, though, that she could feel this level nervousness around him and yet totally comfortable all the while.

"Just don't think you can keep it," he joked **–** well, he stated a fact in a manner that suggested he wasn't completely serious because Chad Dylan Cooper does not joke. Although, he considered starting when Sonny let out an honest laugh.

"But aren't you cold now?" she asked, the grin still spread across her lips.

"Please, I'm Chad Dylan Cooper; I can handle anything," he scoffed, causing Sonny to inwardly roll her eyes and say nothing in return. Usually she'd say some witty remark that Chad would undoubtedly be unable to think of a comeback for, but clearly she wasn't up for it at the time.

"So," Chad began, sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere, "if I can ask, what was it exactly that had you so upset?" he asked, trying to cover his curiosity. Truth be told, the question had been racking his brain for the past ten minutes, but he played it off as though he'd just thought of a question to change the subject. Sonny let out a sigh, thinking of how to word her response.

"Stupid gossip blogs," she shook her head. "It's like, I know I shouldn't look at them, but sometimes I check them out because I'm curious about what people think of me. And once I see a comment that says something bad, I always make the mistake of clicking on more in hopes that someone will say something positive to defend me. But every time I do, each click brings up something worse and I just see more and more comments of people that are picking out my every flaw and it's just**–**" she stopped herself there and took a breath before continuing, slowing her pace. "It just hurts, I guess. I mean, I know that I have lots of fans, and I have my friends and my family. But when I see how people think so lowly of me, I just **–** I don't know, I lose it."

Chad was speechless beyond belief at that point. Sonny Monroe **– **happy, peppy, joyful Sonny Monroe **–** was practically pouring out her soul to him and was fully trusting him with her thoughts and feelings. He'd never been in such a situation. Ever.

When people were down, they didn't come running to Chad Dylan Cooper **–** arrogant, stuck-up, cruel **–** Chad Dylan Cooper; they ran to Sonny Monroe. The roles were completely reversed and he didn't know what to say. It's not like he could just excuse himself and avoid it all, because at that point he'd accepted that he cared about her and couldn't forgive himself if he left her alone in the dark. He asked himself what MacKenzie would do if him and Portlyn were in this situation. Channeling MacKenzie, he placed his hand gently on her knee and opened his mouth to speak.

"Sonny, just imagine those people. They're probably in a dark room in the middle of nothing, totally isolated from the outside world with windows closed and blinds shut. I bet they're stuffing their faces with potato chips while they search for something negative about someone else. If they look hard enough, Sonny, they're bound to find a flaw. It's inevitable; everyone has imperfections. But what they should be looking at is the flaws in themselves and in their own lives so that they can make some changes. You shouldn't care what those people think about you," he finished, hoping that he'd said the right things and didn't make the situation worse than it was before.

"Wow," Sonny said, obviously baffled that those words actually came out of his mouth. "Thank you for that, Chad."

"No problem," he replied modestly, taking his hand off her knee and returning it to his lap. Perhaps he'd allowed himself to fall a little too deep in the MacKenzie persona.

"You know," Sonny began while a slow smile crept across her lips, "behind closed doors you're actually kind of amazing."

Chad smiled openly at this, not bothering to fight the urge.

For a moment they sat like that, smiling at each other, but only for a moment. Chad looked away first while Sonny's gaze on him lingered, and she smiled a little bit wider before standing up.

"Well, I'd better be heading back," she said, shaking his jacket off her shoulders and holding it out to him. Chad, following suit and standing up also, took it from her and hung it over his arm.

"I'll see you around, Sonny," he said, unknowingly taking a step closer to her.

"You too, Chad," she grinned, squeezing his arm before stepping off the staircase and heading back toward her studio while Chad turned the opposite way. And although they both turned away from the other with smiles on their faces, part of each of them knew that things between them wouldn't be as good as this the next day.

Or the day after the next day.

Or the day after that.

Because after all they were Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Monroe: they didn't even like each other.


	3. The Heart is Weak

**The main goal with this chapter was to incorporate some of the other characters from the show, but fear not because there is some Sonny/Chad! It's the turning point for the story. And there's some underlining Nico/Tawni in this and the next chapter, if you squint.**

**Enjoy!**

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Sonny loved the rain.

Her vision was transfixed upon the droplets of water that splashed against the concrete outside and the world around her blurred. The constant and steady beat of the rain made her feel at ease, as if she was back home in Wisconsin. Rain was majestic to her, and sometimes the mere sight of a storm cloud compelled her to stand outside and wait for it to come just so that she could dance in it.

Usually the rain made her feel weightless, blissful.

Usually being the operative word.

Today, the rain was a teasing reminder of the tears that fell from her face the night before. It taunted her; constantly forcing her to think about her vulnerability and the fact that she let herself fall into the arms of Chad Dylan Cooper in her one moment of weakness.

Usually in front of him she was poised, collected.

Usually being the operative word.

The sound of Tawni's approaching footsteps echoed throughout Sonny's head. She knew it was twelve o'clock, and she knew that Tawni was coming to call her for lunch.

That made her nervous.

The cafeteria was the one place where she was sure that their paths would cross that day. She could picture him sitting at his lunch table with the MacKenzie Falls cast, chewing away on his steak and bananas foster. He'd act as though she wasn't even in the room, as if the night before never even happened. She knew that although what transpired between them the night before meant a lot to her, it would mean nothing to Chad. She was sure of it, and that's why she was feeling so miserable.

Without even the slightest warning, Tawni burst through the entrance of their dressing room and immediately headed toward the vanity set up in the corner of the room.

"Earth to Sonny! It's time for lunch," she called over her shoulder after she caught a glimpse of an unresponsive Sonny through the reflection in her mirror. Sonny had every intention of ignoring her completely until she gave up and went off to lunch without her so that she could suffer alone. Suddenly, though, she came to the realization that if she were to let Chad Dylan Cooper bring her down then she wasn't the girl that she knew she was. Hiding from him was what the weak Sonny would do, but the strong Sonny would enter that cafeteria with her head held high and face the fact that he would be there and they were bound to be around each other.

"Hello!" Tawni yelled, throwing a pillow at Sonny from across the room. The moment it collided with her head, she was jerked out of her thoughts.

_'Since when did she get such good aim?' _she mused.

"Relax," Sonny said, taking one last look at the rain before standing up and stretching out her muscles.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Tawni furrowed her eyebrows.

"Sorry," Sonny held up her hands in faux defense.

"That better not be sarcasm," Tawni warned, watching as Sonny walked toward the plush chair and lifted up her jacket to grab a brown paper bag. "Uh, what's in the bag?" she asked her.

"My lunch," Sonny smiled and paused before further explaining, "I'm tired of having that, well, whatever it is that they're serving in the cafeteria. You know, that liquid type thing that they expect us to eat and actually like? It reminds of me of this one time back home when Lucy and I were working on a science fair project and**–**"

"Blah, blah, blah," Tawni interrupted with a sigh, flipping her hair one last time in front of the mirror before heading towards the door. "I ask you one simple question and you somehow relate it to this one time in Wisconsin where you were put into this quirky situation with your best friend and somehow found a hilarious way out of it that's never actually as hilarious as you set it up to be."

"You got all that from the first line of my story?" Sonny asked curiously while she followed Tawni out the door.

"It's always the same, Sonny. You just don't realize how repetitive your stories are," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well anyway," Sonny began, suddenly feeling the need to change the subject, "wouldn't you rather have a nice turkey sandwich than that disgusting stuff they serve in the cafeteria?"

"Oh Sonny, you have so much to learn," Tawni scoffed, earning a confused look from Sonny. "If I wanted steak, I could have steak. If I wanted bananas foster, I could have bananas foster. I'm just as pretty and just as good an actress as all of those MacKenzie Falls people combined, and just because they're the only ones who get all of the good food doesn't mean they're the only ones who _can _get all of the good food. Brenda's just under temporary insanity or something right now. Trust me, she'll be buying a one way ticket to Tawni Town soon enough."

"Of course she will, Tawni, because**–**" just as she was about to reach the punch line of her witty remark, she was interrupted at the arrival of the rest of the cast: Zora, Grady, and Nico.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Tawni Hart and Sonny Monroe, my two favorite girls in the entire universe," Nico addressed them, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders.

"Nico, no touching," Tawni scolded him, picking up his arm and tossing it off her shoulder. Nico cowered back at her comment in faux fear before turning his attention to Sonny and tightening his grip on her shoulder.

"Hi Nico," she smiled before greeting Grady and Zora as well.

"Hey Sonny," Grady grinned, nodding in her direction before goofily picking up Zora and carrying her to the doors of the cafeteria.

"Watch this," Nico whispered to her, poking Tawni's shoulder. She whipped her head in his direction with an annoyed expression and glared at him angrily.

"I said no touching," she said through gritted teeth.

"You mean, not even this?" he asked quizzically before poking her once again.

"Nico!" she huffed with a threatening expression, "If you poke me one more time, I'll-"

Before Tawni could finish her warning, Nico poked her lightly in the same spot and sprinted off into the cafeteria. She quickly chased after him, and while Grady ignored Zora's screaming (and threatening) protests to put her down Sonny couldn't help laughing. Once Tawni and Nico had disappeared, Grady twirled Zora around his arms before placing her back on the ground and leading her inside the cafeteria. Sonny drifted back and took a hesitant breath before finally entering after them. She tried to be coy as she peeked over her shoulder at the MacKenzie Falls table, but was surprised to see that no one was there.

With an agonizing weight lifted off her shoulders, Sonny nearly skipped to her table and sat down at the head of it. As she unwrapped the contents of her paper bag, her castmates took their seats around her and suspiciously eyed the food before them.

"You know guys, I don't trust this," Grady remarked, a grimace taking over his features.

"Me either," Zora shook her head in agreement, examining the carton of milk before deciding to take a sip of it. "Milk's not bad," she said casually.

"_Everything_ is bad," Tawni said with disgust as she pushed her tray away from her.

"Hey, any food is good for me," Nico said, his voice muffled by the sound of his chewing.

"Gross, Nico!" the other four whined.

Sonny took a bite of her turkey sandwich as the rest of the cast, excluding Nico, practically began drooling at the sight of it. She could read their expressions easily and she instantly knew what was coming.

"No, you guys cannot have a bite," she answered the unasked question that was on the tips of their tongues.

"Please Sonny, I'm begging you!" Zora pleaded over dramatically.

"Nope," Sonny shook her head, "Not even if you get on your knees and beg for it."

"Seriously? That was my next tactic," Zora sighed.

"Hey, I told you guys that bringing your lunch would probably be a good idea and none of you listened to me," Sonny shrugged her shoulders, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"When did you say that?" Grady asked in confusion.

"Yesterday.." Sonny laughed.

"That's impossible! If it was just yesterday then I would've remembered," Grady replied.

"Dude, no you wouldn't have. Especially if there was a girl on your mind," Nico joined the conversation.

"Oh yeah!" Grady exclaimed, "Jessica! My memory totally just disappeared for a second," he laughed.

"Who's Jessica?" Sonny asked curiously.

"She's an extra in one of the sketches this week," Grady answered. "She's beautiful," he added, drifting off in his own thoughts before pulling himself back to reality.

"Aw, so you really like her?" Sonny questioned.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I even got her number yesterday."

"Woah, wait! How did you possibly get a girl's number?" Tawni suddenly entered the conversation.

"Ouch," Grady held his hand over his heart.

"No, it's like, no offence or anything, but you don't exactly have the greatest luck with girls," Tawni corrected herself quickly.

"I know what you meant, Tawn," he smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"So, how _did _you get her number?" Sonny asked, curiousity dripping in her voice.

"See, it's like this," Nico began, stopping Grady before he could talk. "Grady and I were hanging out backstage at rehearsals, and this breathtaking girl walks by so of course we're like, 'Hey, let's go talk to her!' We find out the basics: her name's Jessica, she used to be a model **–** big shocker there **–** she's from Ecuador but she moved to Hollywood because her dream's to be an American actress. After she tells us all this, we run out of things to say to her so**–**"

"So Nico, being an idiot and obviously having food on his mind, randomly asks her if they have Dunkin' Donuts in Ecuador," Grady cut him off.

"And Grady goes**–**"

"'Dude, no! If they had a Dunkin' Donuts in Ecuador the slogan wouldn't be America runs on Dunkin', it would be Ecuador runs on Dunkin'!'" Grady cut him off once again to deliver the punch line. Sonny, Zora, and even Tawni laughed while Grady smiled at the memory.

"Jessica started cracking up, and after that we just hit it off," he grinned, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocked. "And she ended up giving me her number!" he exclaimed, holding up the paper for everyone to see.

"Yay!" Sonny clapped, a large smile spread across her face. She loved Grady; if she had to pick a favorite out of one of the _So Random! _cast members, it would most definitely be him.

"Thank you," he bowed, still grinning.

"You are so weird," Zora shook her head and took another sip of her milk.

Grady playfully poked her nose before saying, "I'm weird? Last time I checked, I wasn't the one who hides out in a sarcophagus."

"And air vents, you can't forget those!" Nico added teasingly.

As Zora, Nico, and Grady continued to playfully bicker and Tawni checked her reflection in her pocket mirror, Sonny took the last bite of her sandwich and stood up to throw away her trash. She walked toward the trash barrel that stood by entrance and brushed some crumbs off her clothes, oblivious to the fact that someone was walking her way and inevitably about to walk into her. After she tossed her paper bag into the tash can, she looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of the all too familiar blazer that she was about to collide with. Just as she'd expected, she bumped right into none other than Chad Dylan Cooper and the rest of the MacKenzie Falls cast.

"Watch where you're going," Chad huffed angrily, straightening the creases in his jacket before getting a look at who bumped into him. He was surprised, to say the least, that it was Sonny that stood before him.

They both stood, frozen and unable to move as their eyes connected for one split second that seemed to be passing by in slow motion. In that one moment, his smug expression faded and what replaced it was beautiful: a smile. He was actually genuinely smiling at her, and she was basking in the moment because somehow she knew it wouldn't last. The sight of Portlyn and the rest of the cast clouded Chad's peripheral vision and he cleared his throat awkwardly, his swelled expression from earlier quickly returning.

"God, you really need to learn how to walk. First last night, and now here.." he drifted off and Sonny gulped audibly.

"Last night?" Portlyn asked, snapping her head toward Chad.

"What happened last night?" another member of the cast questioned. Chad could feel himself shrinking, mentally scolding himself for being negligent enough to mention it. He improvised, saying the one thing that could come to his mind at that moment.

"It was nothing," he said, bringing himself to look at Sonny, "Absolutely _nothing_."

Those words stung like venom. She knew they shouldn't have, but they did. She'd told herself that the night before meant more to her than it ever would to him, but somehow when the thought was said aloud it made her feel sick. She knew she shouldn't expect a thing from him, but subconsciously she did. Controlling the look on her face was impossible, and before the situation could possibly get any worse she turned quickly on her heels and walked away, exiting the cafeteria without even glancing over her shoulder.

But that was exactly what she didn't want to do. By running away, she'd shown Chad that he had a competent effect on her and now that she had shown him this, she'd given him all the power. But she wouldn't cry, because crying is a sign of weakness and she'd cried more in twenty-four hours than she had the previous year. Sonny Monroe was a lot of things, but she was not weak and she would not let Chad win, so she took a deep breath and turned back around, ready to face him again until she instantly ran into someone and succeeded in knocking both of them to the ground.

_'Okay, so maybe you **could** work on that whole walking thing..'_

Blushing, she began to pull herself up until she saw an extended hand reaching out to her. With a grateful smile, she grabbed a hold of it and felt weightless as the person pulled her to her feet. And suddenly, she was face to face with an angel **–** well, at least he looked like one.

"Why hello there, I'm Nathaniel Parker," he smiled while shaking her hand, which he continued to hold onto even after a reasonable amount of time.

"Sonny Monroe," she introduced herself, a grin slowly forming.

"Oh, I know. I've watched your show," he replied, finally releasing her hand and returning it to his side.

"You watch _So Random!_?" Sonny asked, a little shocked.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, confused.

"No!" she laughed, a little embarrassed. "Of course not. It's just that most guys don't watch the show, and even if they do they'd never admit it."

"Well, I guess I'm not most guys," he shrugged, smiling.

"I guess you're not," she replied in a daze, melting into the pools of his eyes.

Little did she know that Chad had followed her out of the cafeteria to apologize and was watching the scene unfold before him. She was unaware of the fact that his fists were clenching and that he was not the one with the power over her **–** she had the power over him. Dejectedly dropping his hands, Chad let out a deep breath that he'd been holding in and walked straight past the cafeteria doors and to his dressing room. Once inside, he slid down the back of the wooden door until he was on the ground and leaning his weight against it. All was quiet except for the pitter patter of the raindrops rapidly slamming against the roof above him.

Chad hated the rain.

Sonny looked at it as though it were the most beautiful thing in the entire natural world, while Chad looked at it with disgust.

Sonny and Chad were _total _opposites.

He was cold and she was warm.

She was light and he was dark.

He was push and she was pull.

She was in and he was out.

He was Chad Dylan Cooper, she was Sonny Monroe, and they were opposites.

But then again, opposites _do_ attract, don't they?


	4. The Heart is Jealous

**If you want a better picture of Nathaniel, I'm imagining him as extremely similar to Ricky Underwood from The Secret Life of the American Teenager. xD**

**There's some (slight) Nico/Tawni in this one, too! Yay! :)**

**Enjoy!**

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"Alright, so if you were stranded on a desert island with Chad Dylan Cooper and you could only bring three things, what would they be?" Nico asked the _So Random!_ cast curiously, trying to pass the interminable time between lunch and rehearsals.

"Well he'd probably have a good handle on hair products and what not**–**" Grady began.

"Earplugs! I'd bring those; that's definitely a must have. Can you imagine being like, forced to listen to him go on and on about how handsome and talented he's convinced that he is?" Tawni added to Grady's statement with a roll of her eyes.

"Kind of like you," Nico mused, which earned a hard whack of the arm from Tawni.

"You know what I'd bring?" Zora went back to the original subject. "A gun. Just for threatening purposes," she answered her own question with a malicious giggle and mischevous flick of the eyebrows that only she could pull off. Although the rest of the cast was used to her peculiar behavior, this remark caused each one of them to practically gape at her.

As the cast continued to stare at a malevolent Zora, not one of them took notice of an approaching Sonny with Nathaniel on her heel. Sending an assuring smile to Nathaniel, Sonny reached the lunch of table of the _So Random! _cast and waited patiently for them to acknowledge her was the first to break her regard from Zora and register the fact that there were two new additions to the lunch table. She condescendingly observed Nathaniel before saying, "Sonny, you were gone for barely fifteen minutes and you picked up a stray?"

"Uh," Sonny began nervously as everyone else noticed that she was there, "Guys, this is Nathaniel! Nathaniel Parker — or Nate, for short. He's guest starring on an episode of that gladiator show in studio three. I bumped into him a few minutes ago — which is a lot more literal than you think — and we got to talking. I figured since he's new around here and he hasn't really met anyone yet, I'd invite him to eat lunch with us."

"That's so sweet, Sonny," Tawni smiled a seemingly genuine smile, gesturing to the two empty seats at the end of the table for them to sit down and join them. As Sonny began leading Nathaniel toward the seats, she grinned back and Tawni's smile instantly dropped, being replaced with a look of annoyance. Tawni Hart did not like new people — her feelings of Sonny joining the cast being the perfect example — and was less than thrilled to see that Sonny had invited someone to eat with them without even asking them beforehand. That, and there was something about him that she didn't trust just yet.

Zora, Nico, and Grady happily accepted the fact that he'd be eating with them and admirably watched as he pulled out Sonny's chair and took a seat next to her, a never-faltering smile plastered across his face. Although the apparition was still there, Tawni decided to let things play out as they would without interfering.

"So, what's up Nate?" Nico asked casually to strike up a conversation.

"The ceiling," Nathaniel replied with a smirk, obviously trying not to laugh at his own inane joke. Sonny let out a true laugh at the remark while the rest of the cast simply giggled out of politeness.

"So funny," Tawni spit out between overly forced laughs, punching Nathaniel's shoulder a little too hard. He sent a friendly smile her way, trying his best to ignore the pain that was wracking his upper body. Seriously, the girl could pack a punch.

"Nathaniel!" Nico began, eyeing Tawni. "Since we're still eating," he paused, nodding towards Nathaniel's empty place, "and you're obviously not**–**"

"Which kind of destroys the purpose of having lunch with us," Tawni muttered under her breath, and this time it was her turn to get a jab of the elbow from Nico.

"Why don't you tell us about yourself?" he continued, glaring at Tawni with an expression that said 'Cut it out.'

"There's not much to say really," Nathaniel shrugged in response.

"Then just start from the beginning! Give us the E! True Hollywood Story of Nathaniel Parker," Grady suggested, grabbing a piece of food off of Nico's plate and tossing it into his mouth.

"Okay," Nathaniel began nervously. Truthfully, these people were kind of, well, _weird_. One of them was physically abusing him and glaring at him whenever he looked her way, another was stuffing food down his throat as if it was going out of style, the little girl in the corner was stabbing holes in her milk carton with a plastic straw, the blond one just asked for his freaking life story... and then there was Sonny. She was normal; she was sane. Although they'd just met, he liked her. And because he liked her, he'd need to get used to and close to her friends.

_Step One of getting close to her friends: Give them your life story._

"Well, as you know, I'm Nathaniel Parker. I'm sixteen, turning seventeen in a few weeks. Uh, I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. I never really liked acting much; I mainly played baseball and hung out with my friends — had some good times with my buddies pulling pranks on random people throughout the city. Juvenile, yeah, but fun nevertheless. My family moved out here to LA with my Dad's law firm. Being thrust into the middle of the acting territory got me interested in the whole Hollywood business and I eventually decided to pursue it. Now I'm here, guest starring on a teen drama about gladiators and telling you guys stuff that you probably don't even care about," he finished the story with a light comment, trying to earn some laughs.

"Got that right," Tawni mumbled, stifling a yawn.

"She's charming, isn't she?" Nico grinned at Nathaniel, placing a friendly arm around Tawni's shoulder and pinching her tightly once he looked the other way. She jabbed his side with her elbow and he retreated, leaving Tawni with a triumphant smile.

"I thought it was interesting," Sonny smiled, placing a hand on his arm. "The pranking part seemed fun. Did you ever try that practical joke where you go inside an airport and tell random people not to get on their flight?"

"Funny story, actually**–**" Nathaniel began with a laugh, but was cut off by the ringing of the lunch bell reverberating through the cafeteria.

"Rehearsal time, guys!" Grady stated, standing up and tossing a used napkin on his tray. With that announcement, the rest of the cast, excluding Tawni, stood also and nodded politely toward Nathaniel before throwing away their trash and heading out the door. After they'd left, Tawni picked up her tray and violently pushed out her seat as she stood so that it crashed against Nathaniel's side. Sending a faux apologetic smile his way, she strutted to the trash barrel and out of the cafeteria. Sonny strayed behind with Nathaniel and sent a smile his way after they'd all left.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, a broken Chad Dylan Cooper pulled himself off the ground and brushed the dirt and lint off of his clothing. The overpowering beat of the rain and his flooding thoughts of Sonny and Nathaniel were enough to make him want to rip out his beautiful head of hair. However, in the fifteen minutes he'd spent in his dressing room, he'd hatched up a plan that would allow him to scoff down some much needed food and avoid Sonny and her _So Random!_ followers. And, of course, that _Nathaniel _kid as well. He was certainly someone that he'd hoped he wouldn't be seeing around too often.

Once he heard the sound of the bell signaling that it was time to get back to work, he opened the door and quickly made his way to the cafeteria. As he rounded the corner to the foyer of the building that lead to his destination, he noticed a fuming Tawni exiting the cafeteria doors. He sent a confused look her way, and she rolled her eyes in response without saying a word to him. Shrugging it off, he pushed open the swinging doors of the cafeteria and the sight of none other than that Nathaniel Parker and Sonny stopped him in his tracks. Seriously? Was this God's way of torturing him or something?

"So that went well," Sonny said to Nathaniel with a grin, not noticing the figure frozen in the doorway behind him.

"Call me crazy, Sonny, but I don't think they like me very much. Especially Tawni," he sighed.

"Of course they do!" she replied.

"Sonny, one of them was more interested in his food than me, another would rather poke holes in her milk carton than pay attention to my lame story, and another one took every chance she got to either abuse me physically or cut down something that I said," he said.

"Relax, Nathaniel, they've only just met you," she reassured him. By then, everyone but themselves and the workers had cleared out of the cafeteria except for an unnoticed Chad that was lurking in the shadows of the doorway.

"So have you," Nathaniel pointed out.

"And I like what I see," she smiled widely, immediately turning red after the words came out of her mouth. A grin slowly overtook Nathaniel's features as he stared back at a blushing Sonny until she broke the gaze and became more interested in something behind him. It was then that she noticed that Chad was in the room, practically frozen in place in the doorway while his eyes locked with Sonny's as they had only a short while before. This time, though, it was Sonny that broke the contact as she looked back at Nathaniel with a faltered grin.

"W-we need to get going to rehearsals! Let's get out of here, okay?" she asked with hopeful eyes, and Nathaniel quickly obliged. Sonny, following him, left the cafeteria with her eyes nervously glued to the carpeted floor so that she wasn't forced to look at Chad. Trying her best not to bump into him and cause even more embarrassment and awkwardness, she swiftly brushed past him and let out a silent sigh of relief once she was out of the room.

Chad remained where he was standing after they left and slowly collapsed into a nearby chair. He replayed what had just happened and was confused at how he felt about it. He was — _jealous. _That was new. Sure, he'd had to act it out a million and one times in MacKenzie Falls episodes but he never actually experienced it himself. He wasn't even sure if it was jealousy that he was feeling, but it definitely wasn't joy or happiness that he felt when seeing the two flirt like mad in the middle of a deserted cafeteria. The way she smiled at him, the way she blushed...

That was _his _smile.

That was _his_ blush.

He felt as though those little things that Sonny did were reserved for him and only him, not someone she'd just met.

Instead, though, he was forced to watch her smile at someone else. He was forced to watch her flirt with someone else. He was forced to watch her blush because of someone else. That made him feel sick, because _someone else_ was not him.

Did he really deserve this?

Well, maybe he did.

He was beginning to think he'd never forgive himself for what he'd done to Sonny in front of the MacKenzie Falls cast. Hell, he was beginning to think he'd never forgive himself what he'd done to her _period_.

The look on her face when he spoke those words pained him, yet he didn't fix the mistake while there was still time left. He could've easily taken the words back and coaxed her out of being mad at him. It was no mystery to either of them that they had some sort of spell over each other; they knew how to put on the charm to get what they wanted from the other. That being said, with a few good lines and smiles Sonny would've easily forgiven him. Now, though, he wasn't so sure that was a possibility.

The one thing that he was sure of was that this blossoming friendship between Sonny and Nathaniel needed to be stopped cold in its tracks. Why? He wasn't sure of the _exact _reason; he just knew that it must be put to an end before he had to face them together again.

How would he do this, though? It's not like he could just walk up to Sonny and say, 'Hey, you need to stop hanging out with that guy because I say so.' He may have had an effect on her, but he wasn't that good. After a few minutes of tossing around different ideas in his head, he finally settled on the perfect foolproof plan.

_Step One of ending a possible relationship between Sonny and someone that is not you: Get on the inside._


	5. The Heart Fears

**Capitulo numero cinco! That's Spanish for chapter five, FYI. xD**

**Enjoy!**

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He stood, watching as she walked away from him and stood motionless in his place before impulsively chasing after her. Grabbing her arm, he fiercely turned her around until their bodies were so close that she had no other choice but to look at him and listen to what he wanted to tell her.

"I can't possibly put into words how sorry I am," he began, frantically searching for the right words. "But I just need you to forgive the mistakes I've made. There's plenty, I know, but I'm aware of that and I'm willing to change for you **–** for _us_. You can't leave me, because," he paused, taking a breath before going on, "I need you here. I _need _you here, with me." Sliding his hands from their place on her arm toward her hands, he took both her hands in his and held onto them tightly as though if he were to loosen his grip even the slightest bit she'd disappear.

She looked back at him, speechless. His eyes were pleading to her and his hands were begging for her to forget all of the harsh words that had come out of his mouth the day before. She didn't think she could ever forgive him, but standing there with him made her feel like it was necessary for her to do so. Just as he needed her, she needed him and she was willing to accept that.

"Of course I forgive you," she smiled, blinking away a tear.

_**Cut!**_

Chad Dylan Cooper ignored the lump in his throat as the director of MacKenzie Falls approached Portlyn and himself. His words were encouraging, complementing Chad on how on point he was in that scene and shooting questions at the two of them with too little space in between for either of them to answer. Claiming that he had a sudden idea for a future plot twist in the episode, the director excused himself and went off to work while Chad and Portlyn stayed standing on their marks.

"Great job," Portlyn turned to Chad, smiling.

"You too," he returned the compliment out of politeness. Truth be told, she could've done a lot better **–** but then again, nothing was ever perfect in Chad's world other than himself.

Portlyn sighed. This was the usual; Chad and herself would perform a heart-wrenching scene that would have everyone, including themselves, in tears and once the director called cut the seemingly natural chemistry between them would vanish into thin air. A few compliments after the shoot was wrapped and that was it. A simple 'I'll see you tomorrow' was all that would be said until they returned to their characters the following day. This saddened her to such a high point because Chad and her were once so close. Come to think of it, it wasn't until only a couple of months before that they'd begun to drift apart from each other. There must've been some sort of trigger...

"Hey, Port?" he said suddenly, breaking her stream of thoughts.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"That gladiator show that films in the studio next door, you wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?" he asked casually.

"Of course," she scoffed. "Not only do I practically beg the producers to let me see the new episodes before they air every week, but I'm also friends with most of the cast," _But of course, you wouldn't know that now would you? Too busy ignoring the living crap out of me and such..._

"Really?" Chad perked up.

"Yeah," she nodded, the wheels in her head turning as a brilliant idea popped into her head. "We're all hanging out in fifteen, actually. Why don't you join us?" she flirtatiously placed her hand on his arm and looked at him with inviting eyes, a grin spread across her face.

_Perfect._

"I'd love to! Let me just go get changed and I'll meet you guys..."

"In the corner lot by their studio," she finished for him, squeezing his arm lightly before turning quickly and causing her hair to flip beautifully over her shoulders at an attempt to make Chad swoon over her. This went unnoticed by him, though, as Chad was already half way out the door and to his dressing room to get ready.

After changing into a something a little more casual, washed jeans with an Armani jacket – which is the definition of casual in Chad Dylan Cooper's world – he was ready to go. He headed out the door and navigated himself through the winding hallways of the building until he found the proper exit that lead to the lot of Studio 3, which he had decided to call Studio Loser. Not as creative as he would've liked it to be, but it suited the purpose of downgrading the studio and (more importantly) those in it.

Portlyn was already there, leaning against the stone wall of the building with a new shade of cherry lip gloss applied across her lips. Chad nodded in a way of greeting her and contemplated leaning next to her before deciding against it. _Dirty stone wall + Armani jacket = bad idea._

"Are they still filming?" Chad asked, wondering why they hadn't yet shown up.

"Yeah, but they'll be done in a few minutes. We don't even have to wait for them to get ready because they carry everything they need in their pockets, which is disgusting if you ask me. Granted they're still my friends, but it's getting a little hard to pretend I'm okay with walking the streets of Hollywood with people who've never even heard of a Gucci handbag, you know?" Portlyn motioned to the purse that was slung over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Chad agreed breathlessly, counting down the seconds until they'd be joined with other people so that he wouldn't have to hear her complaining. Almost as if his prayers were answered, the door of the studio pushed open and a group of teens dressed in baggy jeans and t-shirts followed each other outside.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" one of the girls remarked casually, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her pockets and putting them on.

"Port, you didn't say Chad would be joining us," another girl addressed Portlyn while her eyes stayed glued to Chad. She bit her lip seductively and reached out her hand toward Chad.

"I'm Clarissa, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she smiled. Chad, hesitating, shook her hand as quickly as possible and did his best to smile.

"Uh, okay Clarissa," Portlyn said shakily, pulling her back by the shoulders and getting in between her and Chad. The others noticed that Chad was there and gathered around him, waiting for Portlyn to begin the introductions. "Chad, this is Maria, Julia, Brian, Ryan, and Daniel," she said, pointing each one of them as she said their name. Clarissa cleared her throat obnoxiously and elbowed Portlyn, who quickly said, "And of course, you've met Clarissa."

Chad took a few moments to process this – Maria was beautiful, yet he could already tell she lacked personality. Julia seemed more interested in her sunglasses than the fact Chad **–** _as in the Chad Dylan __**freaking **__Cooper _– was in front of her. Brian and Ryan were obviously twins and were doing that whole twin telepathy thing as they observed Chad, and Daniel kept to himself while often glancing at Portlyn with a gleam in his eye. Clarissa was pretty, pushy, demanding; he could see how she and Portlyn could identify with each other and become friends.

_'Wait, where the hell is Nathaniel?'_

Chad's eyes frantically searched around the vicinity for him. Was God trying topunish him for being such a jerk to Sonny again by totally destroying his supposedly foolproof plan? At that point, he felt so defeated that he just wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there for the rest of his life. But then, the door of Studio 3 – ahem, Studio _Loser _– was pushed open once more and out popped the loser of which the studio was named.

Nathaniel Parker swaggered out of the studio doorway and into the parking lot, throwing his stylish leather jacket over his shoulder and nodding to his peers. He was definitely the most trendy of the group, which wasn't very surprising considering he was the newcomer. Chad figured that a few months with these people would surely rip out every fashionable bone in his body, and smirked at the thought. Taking notice of the fact that Chad was there, Nathaniel nodded to him with a closed smile.

"Oh, this is Na**–**" Portlyn began.

"Nathaniel Parker," Chad finished for her, reaching out his hand for Nate to shake. Nate took a hold of it and looked shocked, to say the least, that he had even the slightest clue of who he was.

"Nice to meet you, Chad," he greeted, firmly shaking his hand before releasing it.

"No, the pleasure is mine," Chad replied politely, sugar coating the words with a sweet grin. He'd had plenty of experience in this sucking up department – it was the core of his early childhood.

"Well let's go then, shall we?" Portlyn smiled, interlocking her right arm with Chad's left and leading the group toward the exit of the lot. He tried to break free from her, but gave up after many unsuccessful tries. It wasn't soon after they had reached the sidewalk of Hollywood that Clarissa joined the pair, looping her arm through Chad's free one and flirtatiously smiling. Normally, Chad would revel in all of this attention.

Normally being the operative word.

It was hot that day; ninety-four in the shade and ninety-nine in the sun. Despite the sweltering heat, Chad was cold. The body heat from Portlyn and Clarissa wasn't hot in the slightest bit, and their touch wasn't warm or comfortable. It was just skin touching skin. There was no meaning.

If Sonny's arms were locked with his, he'd be warm.

He'd be comfortable.

He'd be safe.

He'd be happy.

The closeness of Clarissa and Portlyn didn't make him feel that way; it made him feel cold.

It made him feel uncomfortable.

It made him feel awkward.

It made him feel desolate.

Suddenly remembering the reason he embarked on this endeavor to begin with, Chad slyly slipped his arms out of theirs when they weren't looking and quickened his steps until he was standing next to Nathaniel. Nate was taller and therefore had a wider stride, so Chad had to walk faster to keep up. It was worth it, though; Sonny was worth it.

"So Nathaniel," he began casually, "how was your first day of filming?"

"It was alright, I suppose," Nathaniel shrugged in response. "Mainly blooper material," he added, "I messed up the majority of my lines."

"Shocker," Chad mumbled inaudibly before turning back to him. "I'm sure tomorrow will work better for you. First day's always the hardest."

"So I've heard," he replied. After a few moments of an unsatisfying silence, Chad was finished with small talk and began prying into his feelings about Sonny Munroe.

"How's everything else going for you around the studios?" he paused, looking at him knowingly before adding, "Did you meet anyone new?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Nathaniel smiled uncontrollably, becoming momentarily lost in his thoughts before Chad snapped him out of it. "Her name's Sonny."

"Sonny Monroe?" Chad asked curiously, making his expression as innocent looking as humanly possible. It was a pretty idiotic question when you think about it. How many Sonny's were there in the world, let alone Los Angeles?

"Yeah, do you know her?" Nathaniel asked.

"I guess you could say that," Chad grinned.

"She's pretty great," Nathaniel smiled, looking down to hide the blush he got when thinking of her. It was hard for Chad not to notice and much harder for him to ignore the newly familiar feeling of his stomach dropping. He didn't like what he was seeing. Deep down, he'd hoped that Nathaniel was some sort of devious jerk and could easily be exposed as one. If Nathaniel were mean, Chad could play the role of the knight in shining armor and save Sonny from his evil plans. Then, she'd want to fall into his arms.

She'd want to be with him.

Now, though, Chad saw a genuineness in Nathaniel that proved his intentions were of the best. How could he save Sonny from Prince Charming? She didn't need saving.

"Yeah," Chad sighed, looking down at the ground and watching his feet while he walked across the pavement, "she's pretty great."


	6. The Heart Hurts

**I don't really have much to say about this one, except that I cannot believe I've left you guys with this for seven months. xD**

**Enjoy!**

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The day passed by uneventfully and Chad spent his time with the cast of Studio Loser going through the motions in a fog. Thousands of ideas and plots and schemes were floating throughout his head, but none of them seemed right to him. Mainly, it was frustrating. How was he supposed to get Sonny away from Nathaniel if the guy was as clean as a crystal vase? That question was posed many times during the day, but he could not for the life of him find an answer to it.

When everyone parted ways at the end of the day, Chad noticed the constant glances of Portlyn and her friends but chose to ignore him. Did they think he was stupid? They were being so obvious, and he could read every single one of their faces so easily.

_Why is he so distant?_

_Why hasn't he spoken since the beginning of the day?_

_Does he think he's better than us?_

As Portlyn said her final goodbye to Clarissa, everyone left and Chad let out a long awaited sigh. Portlyn turned to him with a smile, nudging his arm lightly before walking away to signal for him to follow. He did, though he wasn't sure why, and found himself walking with her in silence for ten minutes before she finally spoke.

"You're pretty transparent, Chad," she paused, "you always have been."

Chad looked at her questionably, confused at her statement.

"It's obvious. You only wanted to hang out with us so you could get to know Nathaniel. You're clearly jealous because he was hanging out with Sonny earlier; I can see it in your eyes," she gazed at him for a while before looking back down at the ground and adding softly, "the sad thing is that I'm not even mad at you for using me like this."

He wanted to apologize, he really did. Even for him, it was a pretty low thing to do. Just as he was about to open his mouth, though, she stopped him.

"Don't apologize to me, Chad. If you were, you'd be apologizing to the wrong person," she earned another confused look from Chad, which she laughed at. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am. You're forgetting the fact that I was there when you told Sonny that being with her last night meant nothing to you. I saw the look on her face, and I saw the look on yours."

"Portlyn," Chad began, "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm apologizing to _you _because I never should've used you that way. You don't deserve it," he paused, and Portlyn couldn't fight the urge to blush. "Second of all, apologizing to Sonny isn't as simple as I'd like it to be. She's complicated, I'm complicated **– **we're a pretty dysfunctional pair of complex people."

"That's what makes you two perfect for each other," she laughed at his obliviousness. Suddenly she stopped walking and turned to him, gripping both of his arms tightly so that he was aware that she was being serious. "Go apologize, and I promise you it'll make all the difference."

And for some strange reason, Chad believed her.

Within five minutes, he was walking so quickly down the corridors that if someone were to see him they would've thought he was running for his life. He was _really _hoping that Sonny didn't go home yet and that she'd still be there. Somehow he knew she would be, though. The world sometimes worked for them and sometimes worked against them **–** but this time he was positive that the world was on their side this time.

He took a shaky breath before slipping through the open door of her dressing room. Once inside, the first thing he noticed was a figure toward the back of the room clad in a flowing evening gown surrounded by a curling iron and every makeup product imaginable. Slowly stepping forward, he could soon identify the figure to be Sonny as he caught her reflection the mirror. His breath hitched and caught in his throat because she _literally _took his breath away.

The hem of the red dress fell just above her knees and framed her like a Monet. Her curls rested lightly at her shoulders and bounced with every movement she made. Looking back at the image of her in the mirror, he watched as she applied mascara to her eyelashes that provided just enough of an added boost to highlight her chocolate brown eyes. A light, barely noticeable shade of blush was set across her cheeks and a coat of red lipstick covered her lips. She looked beautiful, Chad thought.

_'But then again, she'd be beautiful without the makeup.'_

Catching a glimpse of Chad from the corner of her eye, Sonny noticed his reflection in the mirror behind her and for a moment they were paralyzed. The eye contact was electrifying (as always) and Sonny cursed herself for being so weak at the sensation. She spun on her heels and faced him, the five foot space between them begging to be closed. But Sonny stayed in her place, as did Chad, and waited for him to say something.

"Hi," was all that he could breathlessly mutter.

"Hello?" she replied as more of a question than a greeting.

"What's the occasion?" he nodded at her outfit, slowly gaining back is confident personality. Sonny smiled a tucked a piece of hair behind her ear nervously before answering the question.

"I've got a date tonight," she responded. Chad couldn't believe it. The previous week she'd mentioned to him that she'd never been on a date before, meaning that this would be her first. That wasn't right, at least not to Chad. _He _was supposed to be her first date, not Nathaniel.

"A-a date?" he repeated, hoping he'd heard wrong.

"Yes," he brow crinkled in confusion, "you know, that thing that people do when they like each other romantically."

"I know what a date is, Sonny," he replied through gritted teeth. Sonny folded her arms across her chest and was practically daring him to do something **– **say something that would stop her. Truthfully, she was hoping he would.

"You can't go on a date with him," he shook is head.

"Him? As in who, Chad?" she raised her eyebrows.

"_Nathaniel_," he spit out.

"Who said I was going on a date with Nate? Maybe I'm going out with Grady," she paused, "Or maybe Nico! Who's to say I didn't pick some random guy off the street to go out with me, Chad?"

"I saw you with him earlier," he said, "multiple times."

"Did you now?"

"You can't go out with him," he repeated.

"And why is that?" she prompted him. _Say it,_ she thought. She could see it in his eyes **–** he was jealous. He wanted it to be him. Why couldn't he just come out and tell her?

"Because he's not right for you. You don't even know him!" he raised his voice.

"Oh, and you do!?" she matched his volume and tone, stepping forward angrily.

"I spent the entire day with him! You spent, what, like an hour total?" he countered.

"You can learn a lot in an hour, Chad!"

"Can you, Sonny? Can you _really_?" he paused, "Where did he grow up? What does he do in his spare time?"

"Boston, and he enjoys pranking people!" she replied.

"That says a lot," he huffed, taking a step toward her.

Sonny shook her head, looking down at the ground momentarily before looking back up at him. "I know what this is really about."

"No you don't," he said raspily, suddenly lowering his voice. "You don't even know the half of it."

Sonny didn't know what to say or do at that moment, but didn't respond while she caught her breath from the yelling. She could feel the tears rising and the lump in her throat forming as she looked at him. He looked so **–** _hurt; _so raw. Never had she seen that emotion from him at such a high level of intensity. The sounds of their breathing were the only things that could be heard in her dressing room for what felt like an eternity as they watched each other observantly. Neither of them realized that they were standing so close to each other, and even if they did they probably wouldn't move. They needed it; they needed the closeness and the knowledge that the other was right there, even if they were so angry at the each other.

Tawni entered the dressing room obliviously while texting someone on her phone, not noticing that the two were in there until she almost bumped into Chad. Just as she noticed them, they noticed her as well and immediately backed away from each other.

"I'm sorry," Tawni said softly, her eyes flickering between the two of them with confusion easily readable from her expression. "Are you two going on a date?"

Chad turned to Sonny as she turned to him, and Sonny shook her head disgustedly.

"No," she replied to Tawni, her eyes still glued to Chad's, "He was just leaving, actually."


	7. The Heart Breaks

**I honestly cannot believe I've left this alone for so long. To everyone who's reviewed, I want to thank you so much for taking out the time to reflect on a story that I haven't even updated for (seven) months. For those of you still interested, here's the next chapter! It's probably been so long that you don't even remember what's going on, so may I suggest re-reading it? I've rewritten all of the other chapters, though not completely, but there have been a few changes here and there. The plot's still the same. ****I've got the final chapter written and ready to be posted and will put it up here tomorrow, promise.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chad Dylan Cooper was _not _happy.

A. Not only did his plan for the day get entirely ruined, but he also kind of liked the guy he was supposed to hate.

B. By not defending himself when Portlyn called out that he was jealous of Nathaniel and Sonny's blossoming relationship, he pretty much admitted that he was.

C. After taking Portlyn's advice **–** which was seriously one of the stupidest things he'd ever done **–** he convinced himself that apologizing to Sonny would magically make everything better.

D. He ended up getting in an argument with her when his real intention was to do the total opposite.

E. She kicked him out because she was going on a date with Nathaniel.

And Chad _wasn't _Nathaniel, no matter how much he wanted to be.

Letting out a tired sigh, he finally gave up trying to find his way back to his dressing room and slid against a wall until he hit the floor. With one leg bent and the other stretched out in front of him, he crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes in an attempt to block out his never-ending thoughts. The first thing he saw, though, was Sonny in the beautiful dress she was wearing for Nate. His eyes shot open and he massaged his temples, desperately trying to wipe away the sudden stressful feeling that had overcome him.

"Chad?" he heard a voice and as much as he wanted to ignore it until it went away, he turned his attention to the newcomer.

"Who are you again?" Chad asked, not even bothering to try and remember the name of the_ So Random! _cast member who stood before him. The boy laughed, a dry and exasperated laugh.

"My name is Grady," he paused, "we've been working in the same place for two years."

"Right," Chad nodded, looking away and still not making an effort to remember his name. This was how it always was and always would be; the cast of _So Random! _wasn't important enough to Chad for him to learn, and let alone remember, their names.

Except Sonny, of course. She was the (only) exception.

"So what's bothering you?" Grady asked, taking a seat on the ground across from him with his back against the opposite wall.

"Excuse me?" Chad asked in response.

"Come on, Chad, everyone needs someone to talk to when they're down," Grady shrugged. Chad sat up and held his hands in front of him defensively.

"Okay, first of all: I don't even know who you are. Second of all, I don't want to know who you are," he began listing, earning a roll of the eyes from Grady. "And plus, I'm not even 'down', so you can just take a hike and bring your optimism with you."

"I know everything, Chad," Grady glared, choosing to ignore what was previously said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he responded quickly.

"It means I know everything. Well, pretty much everything," Grady paused and looked at a still confused Chad before adding, "about you and Sonny."

"Me and Sonny?" Chad's expression dropped. "There is no me and Sonny."

"Yes there is," Grady replied quickly before Chad could go any further. His smile suddenly faded to a frown, and his features gained an uncharacteristic coldness. "I don't know why I'm about to tell you this, but I think you need to hear it," he paused again, looking down at his lap and swallowing loudly before taking a breath and beginning. "I had this monumental crush on Sonny for just under fourth months. The moment we met? It was one of the single greatest moments in my entire life, and I spent four months doing silly little things to impress her that I thought I'd never do. Like, I'd slide a note under her door, or I'd walk a little bit faster to get the seat next to her in the cafeteria," he stopped, letting out a laugh. "I even bought her flowers once and told her that it was to celebrate her tenth episode of the show when in actuality I just wanted to see her smile when I gave them to her. At one point, I'd even told myself that it was love and I would never feel the same way about a girl ever again for as long as I lived," the smile on his face was growing with every word he spoke, and Chad could feel the same. Grady's smile soon faded again, though, and he looked Chad in the eye once more. "It was a few weeks ago when I realized that someone like Sonny Monroe could never be with me. She's so beautiful, inside and out, no matter how cliche it seems. But it's not just that I felt I wasn't good enough, it was that I saw the look on her face when she was around you. The first time I saw it, I tried to tell myself that I was just imagining it, but it was undeniable. You make her happy Chad, even though it doesn't always seem like it."

It was impossible for Chad at that moment to respond to what Grady had just told him. He was stuck, unable to say a thing as Grady pulled himself off the floor.

"Don't let her go, Chad," he paused for a while, "because it would hurt her just as much as it would hurt you."

Grady turned and took a couple of steps before adding over his shoulder, "And if you hurt her, I'll hurt you. That's a promise," he threatened, and without another word he rounded the corner left Chad with his thoughts.

Chad found himself smiling, although he wasn't sure why. He didn't even know the kid, yet he knew that he wanted him to be with Sonny. That was quite a feeling, knowing that one of her close friends - who was convinced he was in love with her for a while - was supportive of them, as more than just friends.

Well, whatever they are anyway.

With a newfound confidence, Chad got himself back on his feet and turned back around toward Sonny's dressing room. His heart was racing and began beating more rapidly with every step he took. When he rounded the final corner, he saw Tawni exiting the room and walking the opposite way down the corridor.

"Hey!" he called after her, breaking out in a jog until he caught up with her.

"What are you doing back here?" she asked curiously, stopping in place and turning to him.

"Uh, well," he began shakily, "is Sonny in there?" He gestured to their dressing room.

"She left right after you did, actually," she answered, eyeing him suspiciously before adding, "why?"

"Do you know where she went?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"I'm not answering you until you answer me," she paused. "Why do want to see her?"

Chad raised his eyebrows in response, his expression asking her if she was serious. She mirrored his expression, challenging him. He let out a sigh, and decided to explain.

"I came here earlier to apologize for something that I did to Sonny, and the original plan didn't go as smoothly as I expected," he paused, "Bottom line: I want to fix it."

Tawni's intimidating gaze never faltered, and she continued to watch him for a few extra moments before deciding to herself that she believed him.

"She headed out to the lot to meet up with Nathaniel," she replied, a hint of sadness in her tone. Like Grady, she'd been on Chad's side for a while.

"The corner lot?" he asked, unphased.

"Yeah," she answered, somewhat surprised that he wasn't bothered by it. Within a second, Chad was gone and making his way to the lot to find Sonny before it was too late and she was already gone. Somehow he knew that once she'd gone on one date with him, it'd be a while before they stopped seeing each other. Sonny wasn't afraid of commitment, unlike Chad.

His heart was beating even quicker than before, moving faster and faster with each step while continuously becoming more and more hopeful. Once he reached the door that lead to the outside lot, he didn't hesitate to open it as quickly as possible and search the vicinity for Sonny. It didn't take long for him to find her, quietly standing near the middle of the lot with her arms folded across her chest and the wind lightly blowing the curls in her hair. His pace slowed as he took in the sight; she looked even more beautiful than before, but he could see in her eyes that something was wrong.

"Sonny," he said in almost whisper, stopping when he was a few feet behind her. She turned slightly, knowing that it was him and acknowledging that he was there but not wanting to face him fully.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned quietly. He moved closer, making his way next to her and turning his body to face her.

"Where's Nathaniel?" he asked, ignoring her question. She sighed, looking down with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Hasn't shown up," she answered. "He's twenty minutes late."

Chad's heart began to break, because he could see that hers was.

"Well," he began, slipping his arm around her and resting it lightly on her back, "it'd be a shame if you got all dressed up and didn't go anywhere."

"Chad, don't-" she shrugged his arm off her shoulder.

"Don't what?" he asked innocently, genuinely.

"Don't pull this on me, especially not right now. One second you're nice to me, the next you're an absolute jerk, and now you want to take me out? I'm just tired of the constant back and forth with you, Chad, and I'd appreciate it if you just backed off," she snapped. She wasn't even sure if she completely meant it, but she just wanted him to go away in order to avoid further embarassment. There she was, being stood up on a date right in front of Chad Dylan Cooper. The same Chad Dylan Cooper who she'd been in a power struggle with for days now.

The same Chad Dylan Cooper who made her blood boil, who made her blush.

The same Chad Dylan Cooper who kept showing in her life, no matter how many times she tried pushing him out of it.

The same Chad Dylan Cooper who was reaching for her hand, wanting to hold it.

The same Chad Dylan Cooper whose entire face fell as Nathaniel Parker showed up in a tuxedo, ready to take Sonny Monroe out to dinner.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late!" Nathaniel shouted, running up to Sonny and acting as though Chad wasn't even there. Sonny returned a (weak) smile and allowed him to slip his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to his Mercedes in the parking lot.

As they were leaving, Sonny looked over her shoulder and back at Chad. He had already turned around, though, and was walking the other way with his head down. She sighed and turned her attention back to her date.

Just as Sonny turned her head back, Chad turned around and watched. Secretly he was hoping that she would turn around, the fact that she'd already done so unbeknownst to him. He waited, foolishly, until she'd gotten in the car to see if she'd look. And after they'd driven away, he stood in the same place and waited.

Waited.

Waited.

And he dropped to his knees when she never came back.


	8. The Heart Flutters

**Final chapter! It's been a bumpy ride, but it's finally here! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The picture of Sonny and Nathaniel sitting in the front booth of one of the most elegant restaurants in town, Sonny clad in her beautiful red dress while Nathaniel sported a classy tuxedo, was purely adorable enough to make any old couple in Hollywood coo and remember their golden days. Any given passerby on the street was guilty of stealing a glance at the young pair and thinking that they were perfect for each other **–** like a match made in heaven. Even Nathaniel had admitted to himself that they would make a lovely couple and had thought their date was going well enough to make the chance of that a highly likely one. Sonny had taken notice of the people watching them, feeling utterly flattered by the unspoken compliments.

"You know," Nathaniel smiled at his date, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were too beautiful to be human. Are you sure you aren't a robot or something?"

Sonny grinned at the compliment and said, "I'm most definitely not a robot. Or an alien, either."

"God must've spent a little more time on you, then."

"Did you really just quote Nsync?"

"I guess I did," he laughed with a shrug. "But I mean it. Really, I do," he gazed at her, admiring her. His eyes were rather striking, Sonny admitted to herself, dark brown pools that seemed to go on endlessly. And his smile was rather charming, his pearly white teeth looking like perfection while his lips seemed so inviting - kissable, even. His words were rather poetic, though a little bit cheesy, but Sonny admired even his failed attempts at flattering her. Any girl would be lucky to have him, she concluded.

But if she was as lucky as she assumed she was, then why was it that her smile seemed so forced?

And the shot changes to Chad Dylan Cooper **–** lonely, sitting in utter silence in his dressing room because returning to his house felt like too much of an effort. It was all the poor boy had in him to drag himself back to his current position. He was undergoing a foreign emotion he'd never experienced before, which after much thought and reviews of old and dramatic MacKenzie Falls episodes, he decided was worthlessness. Without Sonny, he was worthless. He had absolutely no worth. He was beginning to wonder if he could pull himself together enough to film his scenes the next day, and if he lost his acting abilities than he truly was a worthless piece of flesh and bones.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd reached across the center table to grab the remote and turned the television on to channel twenty-five. Sonny was wearing some ridiculous maid costume, running around the stage frantically trying to meet Tawni's demands. Cinder-Sonny, the skit was called. Chad might have barked out a laugh had he been able to process the humor in it.

An hour and two episodes of _So Random! _later and there's a knock on his door that he chooses to ignore. He figures they'll go away soon enough, leaving the bruting Chad Dylan Cooper all by his lonesome.

A minute later, there's another knock that he doesn't attend to.

A few seconds pass by and there's two more knocks on his door, which he pretends he doesn't hear.

Two minutes go by and he thinks that the person finally left, like he was sure he knew they would. He was partly right because the knocking stopped, but the person responsible had walked into his room and sat down on the other end of the couch. When he pushed himself to see who it was, he found that he was face to face with Sonny Monroe, only a couch cushion separating them. His face remained unchanged, though his brain was furiously trying to process that she was actually in the room with him and his heart began to speed up wildly. And when she smiled at him, he felt the corners of his mouth flick up momentarily before returning to their statue-like position.

"So what are you watching?" Sonny gestured toward the television and grinned knowingly.

"Nothing," Chad fumbled around with the remote control in his hands and his face became hot as he tried to turn it off, as if it wasn't too late to hide the evidence. She reached out to him and grabbed the remote, placing it on the table and returning her gaze to him. It was then that he noticed that she was still in her red evening gown, makeup still applied and jewelry still worn as if she came straight here after her date. It was unlikely, though, considering they'd only left about an hour and a half ago.

"Can I ask what happened?" he finally spoke curiously, gesturing to her attire.

"Well, why be on a date when I could just stay here and watch _So Random!_ with you?" she smiled with a shrug, furthermore confusing him. He decided not to further question it, recognizing that it was her way of avoiding the topic. It was fine with him, though, because she was there with him and at that point it was all that mattered to him.

"Listen," they said simultaneously.

"I'm sorry!" they apologized in the same instant.

Their faces both flushed as Sonny held up her hand and said, "You can go first."

"Okay," he let out a nervous laugh. "I just wanted to say that I'm _sorry_," he struggled, this being his first (sincere) apology, "about completely blowing you off after the other night and then preceding to continuously push myself into your personal life when it wasn't my place at all."

"I forgive you for blowing me off," she said, "but about you pushing yourself into my personal life?" Chad gulped audibly as she paused, but she sent him a reassuring smile and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, apology accepted," he replied. It was all so formal, so polite, so vague. Chad felt like he had so much more to say to her, but couldn't even begin to put it into decent enough words that would get his point across. But when she smiled at him, his thoughts and surroundings melted away to the point where all he could see was her.

"So we're good?" she asked, slowly pulling him back to reality.

"Of course," he grinned. At first it looked like she took this response as an acceptable one, but after a while her smile faltered. Chad's eyebrows furrowed and he tried desperately to read her **–** figure out what was going on in her head. Before he could properly try, though, she'd looked up at him questionably.

"But as what?"

He didn't understand the question, and when he saw vulnerability in her eyes his hands began to shake, his palms sweating as he realized the importance of this question to her. If she was going in the direction he thought she was, their relationship could change forever. Not forever as in the teenage forever that only lasts for two weeks, but the permanent forever that lasts a lifetime.

"What do you mean?"

She was nervous. Beyond nervous. She'd reached the point where her nerves had gone so wild that she couldn't even feel anything in her hands, a sweltering heat radiating throughout her body. Once she asked this question, she knew that there was no turning back for them. His answer to what she was about to ask could change them completely if she were to get the answer she'd been (secretly) hoping for.

"What are we Chad?"

His heart began beating erratically to the point where he was just about sure it was going to pop right out of his chest. There she sat in front of him, wearing the most beautiful dress that he'd ever seen and wearing such a perfect amount of makeup that he was nearly convinced she came straight out of a storybook.

And she was asking him to define their relationship.

At that moment, pictures of Sonny entered and exited his mind like wildfire. Still frames of her flew in and out of his head so quickly that he didn't even have time to process them all. There was one of her wearing that silly blonde wig, and another one where she was sitting alone at her lunch table. Another picture was one he'd seen not too long ago, the one of her standing alone in the parking lot as she waited for Nathaniel. All of these moments that he'd seen her, all of these moments where they'd interacted were flooding his every thought and they just came quicker and quicker until the last one **–** a picture of her smiling over her shoulder at him, carrying a hammer because they'd been building doghouses all day **–** exploded into a thousand little pieces that rained across his mind until the image of her looking at him now clouded his vision.

"I can't," he said softly, "I can't really put it into words."

"Try," she demanded quickly, quietly. "For me?"

"I," he stopped, "I **–** uh," he stuttered, "I like you," he finally said slowly.

"As what?" she whispered shakily, the vulnerability in her eyes shining stronger than ever before. He realized that she'd just given him the power to completely humiliate her, giving him endless possibilities to embarrass her not only in front of him but in front of the entire MacKenzie Falls cast had he told them the story. She'd just given him this power over her, but she trusted him enough to not worry about the consequences. She trusted him with her pride. She trusted him with her feelings.

She trusted _him._

Chad had never felt such a thing before, from anyone. No one had ever given him so much. No one had ever treated him so real, like he was more than just Chad Dylan Cooper: movie star extraordinaire. No one had ever given him the power to break them. No one made him feel like Sonny, and he wondered if anyone could ever live up to the high he felt when he was around her.

Sonny didn't need a verbal answer from him anymore, because she got her answer from his eyes. And before she knew it, they had moved so close together that she could feel his breath against her lips. Her eyes were closed, trusting. He closed the gap between them and they kissed, soft and sweet **–** meaningfully.

She pulled away after a while, and he had to resist pulling her into him again because he felt like he could soar on that kiss for weeks. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she reached for the remote and switched the television to channel twelve.

"Let's watch some MacKenzie Falls," she grinned up at him as he slipped his arm around her shoulder and laughed.

She giggled against his chest, just above his heart, and he swore that it fluttered.

* * *

**So it's no work of art, and it's a little (and by little I mean utterly) cheesy, but it's finally finished! Thank you all, again, so much for reviewing and sticking with it. You're the greatest!**


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